On account of the threatening weather, an audience somewhat smaller than usual gathered in Appleton Chapel last evening to hear the address of Rev. Washington Gladden. He chose his text from the 2d chapter of Titus, 11th and 12th verses; "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in the present age."

Many people excuse their selfish worldly lives on the plea that such a life as is enjoined in the text is impossible in this age of ours; which, with its boasted civilization and culture, is an age of mental incertitude, social destraction and moral confusion. The daily excitement which prevails unfits the soul for meditation. If we could but be transferred to the age of Abraham, or David, or even Cotton Mather, it would be easy to live a sober and godly life. But now the lust of the eye and the lust of the flesh, and of vain glory undermine the higher aims and motives. And then, all the world meets at our door - people of different habits and ways of life. There is no unanimity of thought and practice; there is uncertainty as to which ways are the right ways; doubt and confusion prevail. The turmoil unsettles belief. How can we obey the apostle's injuction in such an age as this? If we could be rid of excitement and this Babci of opinion, the talk would be easy.

Such wishes are idle. We were born in this age with its luxury, excitement and doubt, and in it we must live. The times, however, are not without their advantages. Excitement, though it prevents quiet meditation, stimulates our divine impulses as well as our bodily passions. The age of Cotton Mather would seem cold to us. Wealth, too, brings with it endless good, and though inseparable from luxury, is the sole support of the great philanthropic schemes which are the mark of the Christian Church to day.

The mixture of civilizations, though it brings diverse opinions, should not unsettle our convictions. We should weigh the old and new ways; we should "prove all things, holding to that which is good, rejecting all that is evil."

The drawbacks are no more, and the helps no less in this age than in any other; the grace of God has never been kinder and stronger than it is now. It is a good time to live, to have noblest and purest ideals, to follow Jesus Christ, the leader of this age and all ages. "Now is the accepted time, and behold, now is the day of salvation."